Metallic-spoked wheel.



jgg a. F'ROMMANN 'METZALL'IC SPOKED WHEEL. APPLICATION, FILED MAIL-3,1913.

' Patented Apr. 10

LWMMQ I w a Q an m u m U 0 S A n I W t A. 0

F.-A. FROMMAN N. j METALLIC SPQKED WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3 Hi3.

: Patented Apr. 10, 1917,

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METALLIC-SPOKED WHEEL.

To all whom it may concern: 7

- Be it known that I, F RANKLIN A. FROM- of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallicand I do hereby declare "the following to be a full, clear,-and exact description of the invention, such as -will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

..My. invention relates to vehicle wheels and more particularly to the class of wheels used on light delivery vehicles or motor cycles. One object of my invention is to provide a Wheel construction including separable spokes but requiring no threading upon either end of the said spokes. Another object is to provide means for simultaneously tightening vall of the spokes of the wheel. A further object is to provide a wheel equipped with a smaller number of spoke-fastenings at the hub than at provide spoke formations adapted to connect a plurality of points upon the rim of a Wheel with a single portion of the hub thereof. In the drawings,

Figure '1- is, a fragmentary side elevation, partially in section, of a wheel equipped -with' the spoke, rim and hub formatron of my invention.

F1g.'2 is a transverse section through the hub of the. wheel along the line 22 of Fig. 4. I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of an end portion of one of the spokes and of the locking member used for interlocking the end of the spoke with either the hub or the Wheel along the line l-4 of I rim member of the wheel. v

Fig. -lis a fragmentary section of the Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig.

g but with the hub member in elevation and -with an alternate form of spoke used thereon;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the spokes used in the construction shown in Fig. 5.

In the embodiment shown. in Fig. 1-- the wheel :of my invention has a hub sleeve 1 rotatably mounted upon the shaft 2 and held thereon by nuts 3 threaded .to one end of. the said shaft. Upon the exterior of the hub sleeve 1, I position hub flanges 3 and 21, connected to the said sleeve by right-hand tion 5 having a site key-seats or slots 6 which they each other until and to each of the Patented Apr. ioQiaiv.

and left-hand threads, respectively. Each of these hub flanges has an inner sleeve porpair of diametrically oppotherein, the said slots' being ,adapted' to interfit 3 with inwardly directed splines 7 upon a split sleeve 8 mounted upon the said sleeve portion 5 centrally of, the hub. Being thus nonrotatably interengaged with the sleeve 8, a rotation of. this sleeve with respect to th e'hub sleeve 1 will cause hub members 3 and 1 to rotate with the same laltter members endwardly relative to each ot ier, of the righthand and left-hand threads byv are mounted upon the hub sleeve 1. Consequently, by rotating the adjusting sleeve 8 in the proper direction, the'hub flanges 3 and 1 may be approached toward the shoulders upon the sleeves connected thereto abut against the ends 10 of the said adjusting sleeve.

owing to the difference in direction or o'ri rcae rrnranors; Assrenoero OLIVE FROMM-ANN, or cnrcaeo, ILLINOIS.

; thereby moving these For the peripheral member of myv wheel,

rim 11 having opposed ward of the wheel, these outward formations having a plurality of substantially radial slots 16 at intervals'on the same. Likewise, I provide a plurality of substantially radial slots inthe flanges 3 and 4 of the hub, these slots upon both the hub and rim members being slightly greater in' Width than the thickness. of the spokes l7 and 18 connecting the said hub and rim members. when the wheel is assembled. The laterally disposed" spokes 17 of the wheel .are preferably made in pairs, as shown in Fig. --l, with the inner ends connected in the form of a flattened loop, each pair being formed of a single strip of steel. Adjacent to the doubled or looped inner end of the said sectionally V-shaped pair of spokes outer ends of the same, each spoke is provided with anelongated slot 19, which slot is adapted to have a looking member or key 20 slipped entirely through the same. The locking member 20 the latter connecting wheel reduced by a slot 21 at or near its longitudinal center, thereby providing a recess slightly greater in width than the thickness of the spoke andpermitting the end of the :spoke to be drawn into'the said recess when the spoke is moved in a direction radial of the wheel with reference to the said locking member.

To provide for a transverse rigidity of the alternate the said bifurcated or twin spoke formations with spokes formed singly,

with the laterally opposite portion of the rim. When the wheel is to be assembled, the hub flanges 3 and 4 are approached toward each other as far as possible by rotating the adjusting member 10 relative to the hub, thereby lessening the distances between the points normally connected by the ends of each spoke. The spokes together with the locking members positioned in theslots thereof are thenslipped through the slots 16 and 22 into the r spective anchoringforma- 'tions of the rim nd of the hub, whereupon theadjusting member 10 isrotated in the direction in which it causes the hub flanges 3 and A: to move laterally away from each other, thereby tightening all of the spokes simultaneously.

While I preferably use twin or du, lex spoke formations as shown in Fig. 1-, thereby reducing the number of slots in the hub member of the wheel and consequently reducing the extent to which the flanges of this wish to be limited to this particular arrangement. Instead, the hub and rim members may be provided with an equal number of slots or independent anchoring formations for the spokes, as shown in Fig. 5.

Likewise, the spokes may be made of round bars having elongated heads formed integral therewith, as shown in Fig. 5-, and other details of the wheel construction may be modified in many ways without departing from-the spirit of my invention.

" I claim as my invention:

1. A wheel including a tubular member equippedmpon its respective end portions with right and left-hand threads, a pair of spoke-carrying tively upon the said portions of the tubular member and presenting tubular extensions toward each other and an actuating member carried by the tubular member and nonrotatably engaging thesaid extensions of the spoke-carrying members, the said engagement enabling the actuating member each of the hub flanges.

hub are weakened by the slots,'I do not members threaded respecupon rotation thereof withlrespect to the said tubular member to rotate the spoke- -carrying members in unison with each other.

2. Ahub for vehicle wheels comprising a tube shaft and equipped at its respective ends with reverse threads, a pair of spokecarrying members threaded respectively upon the said ends of the tube, said members equipped at their inner ends with key ways: and a sleeve mounted upon the said tube intermediate of the' said members and equipped with key formations engaging the said keyways upon both of the latter, the

said engagement enabling a rotating of the sleeve upon the tube to rotate said members 1n unison .so as simultaneously to tighten the spokes upon both sides of the wheel.

3. A hub for vehicle wheels comprising'a tube equipped at its respective ends with reverse threads, and witlra cylindrical portion intermediate of the said threads, a pair of spoke-carrying members threaded respectively upon the said ends of thetube, and a sleeve mounted upon the cylindrical portion of the tube, the said sleeve and members equipped with .codperating formations to preventrelative rotation thereof about the axis of the said shaft, the said reverse threads coiiperating with said formations to cause a separation of said members upon the rotating of the sleeve upon the tube.

4;. A hub a sleeve provided at respective ends with right-hand and left-hand screw-threads, a pair of spoke-carrying rings threaded respectively, upon the said threaded ends, and

to prevent relative rotation thereof and causing them to rotate in unison for tightening or loosening the spokes.

5. A hub for vehicle wheels comprising a sleeve provided at respective ends with right-hand and left-handscrew-threads, a

pair of spoke-carrying rings threaded respectively, upon the said threaded ends, and

means arranged between said rings adapted to prevent relative rotation thereof and means arranged between said rings adapted forvehicle wheels comprising causing them to rotate in unison for tight- 

